The present invention relates to snare drums, and particularly to a mechanism for attaching snares to a tensioning device on the drum. More particularly, the invention relates to a mechanism for individually adjusting the snares on a drum and for precisely setting a tilt angle of the adjusting mechanism relative to the snares.
Snare drums produce a sound that is different from all other drums. This unique sound is produced by stretching snares, typically made of cable, gut, or wire, across one head of a drum. These snares are generally attached to the drum shell at one end, stretched across a snare head, and attached to a strainer which is attached to the opposite side of the drum shell. The strainer operates to stretch the snare across the drum head, or to release the tension and allow the snares to move away from the drum head.
By varying the amount of tension that the strainer applies to snares, a drummer can change the sound produced by the snare drum. Since the strainer only applies and releases tension to the snares, but does not adjust the tension, another means for adjusting the tension is needed. Mechanisms for adjusting the tension of the snares are known. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,595,764 to Elliott; U.S. Pat. No. 2,261,120 to Ludwig et al.; and, U.S. Pat. No. 365,187 to Johnson.
Various clamping mechanisms have been devised for attaching the snares to the strainer and adjusting the tension of the snares. However, at times, it is also desirable to change the orientation of the clamping mechanism relative to the snares as a means of further adjusting the sound to achieve a desired result. A mechanism that would allow a snare drummer to precisely adjust the angle of the clamping mechanism relative to the snares would provide an improvement over conventional clamping mechanisms. Some conventional clamping mechanisms allow tilt angle adjustment, but repeated cycles of the strainer disrupt the tilt angle, causing it to change little by little over a number of cycles. As a result, it is difficult to get consistent results. A greater improvement would provide a mechanism that allows repeated cycling of the strainer between tightening and loosening of the snares without disrupting the angle of the clamp relative to the snares. Such an improvement would allow consistent results over repeated cycles of the strainer.
According to the present invention, a snare clamp includes a primary element and a secondary element adjustably coupled to the primary element, and at least one tertiary element adjustably coupled to the secondary element. The clamp further includes means for attaching the primary element to the strainer.
In some embodiments, a first group of snares is positioned between the primary and secondary elements which cooperate to form a first vise for gripping the first group of snares. A second group of snares is positioned between the secondary element and the tertiary element, the elements cooperating to form a second vise for gripping the second group of snares. The second group of snares may be divided into sub-groups of snares which can be individually adjusted when more than one tertiary element is provided.
In other embodiments, the means for attaching the snare clamp to the strainer includes means for precisely adjusting the tilt angle of the snare clamp. The means for precisely adjusting the tilt angle includes cylindrical cable-receiving bores formed in one of the elements. The adjusting means also includes connecting cables passing through the cable-receiving bores, the connecting cables being attached to the strainer. According to one aspect of the invention, the cable-receiving bores are formed in the primary element and each cable passes through a plurality of cable-receiving bores.
By providing a snare clamp with multiple independently adjustable elements, the present invention allows the adjustment of a portion of the snares without affecting the adjustment of the remaining snares. By further providing cylindrical cable-receiving bores and a plurality of connecting cables attached to the strainer, the present invention also allows for precise adjustment of the tilt angle of the snare clamp relative to the snares. The plurality of connecting cables cooperating with the plurality of cable-receiving bores allows for repeated strainer cycles of tensioning and loosening the snares without affecting the adjustment of the tilt angle of the snare clamp relative to the snares, thereby providing a substantial improvement over conventional snare clamps.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.